LANCASHIRE Spinners hopes of reaching the National Trophy semi-finals were ended by 66-52 defeat at home to reigning champions Manchester Magic.

An appreciative crowd at Castle Leisure Centre did their best to cheer on the Spinners as they attempted to bounce back from defeat to Northumbria the previous weekend in the opening game of the group stages.

But while neither side ever really hit their stride in an error-strewn game, the visitors slowly gained the upper hand and booked their place in the next round with a follow-up win to their opening-day victory over Bradford.

“The biggest factor hurting us at the moment is a lack of scoring,” said Spinners head coach Neal Hopkins. “That comes down to the fact that this is a new group trying to find its rhythm.”

The Spinners' success rate in their shooting is a little over 27 per cent following their first two games of the season.

Connor Murtagh finished with 13 points and eight rebounds while Mike Bernard added 10 points and six boards for the Spinners, who were held to their lowest points total in team history – also suffering consecutive home defeats for the just the third time since joining the National Leagues in 2011.

Lancashire jumped out to a 6-0 lead as Manchester missed their opening four shots and made two turnovers. But Lee Goldsbrough, who had a solid game defensively, got the visitors on the board when he converted from under the rim.

The hosts restored their six-point lead, though Manchester climbed to within 13-11 after 10 minutes before holding the Spinners to just 10 points in the second quarter.

Trailing 30-23 at half time, Lancashire’s deficit grew as large as 15 points midway through the third quarter.

But the home side then found their rhythm with Murtagh sinking a deep three-pointer before drawing a foul in the lane as he converted an off-balance layup to bring the Spinners within nine points.

The Magic, who were 12-of-28 shooting after the break, used an 8-1 burst at the start of the fourth quarter to push the lead back out to double-digits and maintained that advantage to the finish.